
SABBATH-SCHOOL LESSON QUARTERLY
7
thing, as well," is because they fail to realize the wonderful
comprehensiveness of Bible belief.
Believing,
in the Bible sense,
includes
doing.
When Christ was asked by the Jews what they
should do in order to work the works of God, He replied, "This
is the work of ' God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath
sent." John 6:29. This shows that there is no danger of anti-
nomianism in real faith. Paul says that faith establishes the
law. Rom. 3: 31. Faith is the substance of things hoped for.
That is, everything good that we desire, we may have through
faith. It is faith which brings strength out of weakness, and
light out of darkness, and works of righteousness in the place of
disobedience. Let no one decry faith in Christ, but let all seek
to know what it is in truth.
2.
"Paul and Silas felt that to maintain the dignity of Christ's
church, they must not submit to the illegal course proposed by the
Roman magistrates. The apostles were Roman citizens, and it
was unlawful to scourge a Roman, save for the most flagrant
crime, or to deprive him of his liberty without a fair trial and
condemnation. They had been publicly thrust into prison, and
now refused to be privately released, without proper acknowledg-
ments on the part of the magistrates.
"When this word was brought to the authorities, they were
alarmed for fear the apostles would make complaint of their
unlawful treatment to the emperor, and cause the magistrates
to lose their positions. They accordingly visited the prison, apolo-
gized to the apostles for their injustice and cruelty, and them-
selves conducted them out of the prison, and entreated them to
depart out of the city. Thus the Lord wrought for His servants
in their extremity."—"Sketches
from the Life of Paul," page
79.
3.
"And when they had seen the brethren, they comforted
them, and departed." What a wonderful lesson these words
contain! One would naturally think that Paul and Silas,
after
the shameful and cruel treatment that they had received, were
the ones to be comforted. But no; they had received their com-
fort already. They had been sharers in the sufferings of Christ,
and He had borne their sorrow for them. As God had given them
comfort, they, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God
(1 Peter 4:10), ministered the same comfort to others. From
this we may learn that the proper way to use trials is not to
mourn over them, burdening others in our efforts to obtain
sympathy, but to take
-
the increase of
krace
which God always
gives in tribulation, to those who will receive it, and thereby
be able to testify to others with greater confidence, of the good-
ness of God.